Inspiration
by Riot Writes FanFic
Summary: Tanil is considered "normal" for a human, having grown up on Earth her entire life. An opportunity arises to head to the Citadel and deal with all the paperwork being dealt with the death of Commander Shepard shortly after the attack on the Citadel by Saren. A chance to get out, Tanil heads off to her new assignment. Turian OC x Human OC
1. Chapter 1

**Mass Effect: Inspiration **

**Staff Commander Tanil Reynolds**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect**

Tanil stared out the window, her palm resting against the glass as she watched the civilians walk by. The Persidium, if she had known it would this beautiful, she would have made sure her entire schedule was open, just so that she could walk along down there. Alas, politics and military were so much more important than being a tourist. Tanil leaned forward, resting her forearm against the glass now, gently pressing her forehead against the chill of the glass. Damn it all, what she would give just for some shore leave on the Citadel. No, the Alliance liked to keep people busy with the most mundane paperwork.

"Commander?"

Tanil turned away from the window, looking behind her to see the people who had now entered the office. Councilor Udina stood at the door flanked by two marines who quickly saluted at the presence of an officer. Tanil saluted back, letting the soldiers relax, her attention now on Udina. "Councilor."

"Welcome to the Citadel, Commander. Is it everything you expected?" Councilor Udina asked.

Everyone hated Udina, the reputation under the name of Udina dripped with so much anger and resentment, and it was kind of funny to see the Councilor standing before her, acting nice for a new arrival.

"Yes, Councilor, although the Citadel is a lot more than I expected it to be." Tanil said, glancing back towards the window; why did she have to be in this office? "I trust you'll have someone giving me the tour?" she asked, by damned if she was going to be working day and night here; she at least wanted to find where the hell she could get a drink.

"Of course, Commander, the turian councilor arranged for someone to show you the Citadel." Udina said with a smile, Tanil smiled back, thank god. "I will have your escort come by the office shortly to show you the Citadel, Commander. Of course, the Alliance won't demand you service until Monday 0800. We'll see you then, Commander Reynolds."

Tanil nodded, quickly saluting the Councilor while he turned to leave. As soon as the door fizzed shut Tanil instantly turned back to the window and smirked. A week's worth of leave, it wasn't much but it was at least enough time to explore this place to the fullest. Another plus side to being on the Citadel, Tanil pressed her forehead up against the glass, the aliens. Being on Earth since birth didn't leave much room to meet the other inhabitants of this galaxy, but here, they were everywhere. It wasn't creepy to want to meet every alien out there… right? Maybe it was too childish to be excited? Tanil smirked, being a little childish was alright, her fist clenching as she made a subtle fist pump; fuck yes for the Alliance giving her some time off.

"Commander Reynolds?"

Why did doors have to be so goddamned quiet? Tanil spun around, automatically resuming the military composure, or so she had thought. Tanil's mouth dropped her arms saggy as she stared at the turian standing in front of her. She had seen pictures of turians, but that was nothing compared to seeing one up close and personal. The avian features on this one was astounding, Tanil couldn't help but stare, the white markings, the mandibles! She had read and studied just about every species known to humanity, seeing the biology she knew so well working and moving in a living figure. What about the rest of the species, what would they all look like? Would it look just as amazing as a turian does? Tanil nibbling slightly on the tips of her fingers, what about asari or even salarians? Tanil froze, fuck, how sure was she that she wasn't saying this all out loud. In fact, maybe she needed to come back to earth….

Tanil looked at her fingers that she had been nibbling when she entered her train of thought, and glanced up at the turian now giving her a queer look as he stood at the door. Tanil sighed and slowly lowering her hand away from her mouth, well now this was awkward. Tanil quickly cleared her throat and straightened herself out, military mode again. "Sir."

"Commander Reynolds I assume?" the turian asked. Tanil sighed, nodding a yes to his question. "Kandros Oraka, I am to be your escort through the Citadel." He was dressed in civvies, as far as she could tell, clear white markings on his mandibles. Tanil's eyes widened, she didn't expect her escort to arrive so early, but turians were resilient and always got things done; she should have known he'd arrive fast.

"Tanil!" Tanil quickly said, jolting her attention away from the turian to make her way to her pack that was lying on the ground. Her first assignment was to get to the office, she had no apartment yet, something she assumed Kandros would show her to. "Call me Tanil, I'm off duty." Tanil quickly said, assuming the look of Kandros's face from her suddenly statement. Unfortunately, she was still dressed in her uniform, but not for long. Tanil quickly bent over her bag, reaching over her head to grab the hem of her uniform and tugging at it as she began to pull it over her head, her under shirt getting pulled along with it.

"Co... Commander?" Kandros stammered, confused by the sudden sight of Tanil hurriedly stripping off her clothes.

Tanil had been in her uniform day and night after hearing the news that she was being transferred to the Citadel, there was no damned way she was going to continue to wear it while she was on leave. Tanil stripped off her commander's jacket and shoved it into her bag, reaching into the recesses of her bag to pull out a black hoodie with a red stripe down the back. She paid no mind to the still flustered turian as she slipped the jacket on and flung the pack over her shoulder. "Pleasure to meet you, Kandros." Tanil said, turning towards Kandros. Ah… being back in civvies felt good, she thought as she extended her hand out to Kandros.

Some would say that Tanil was very… very odd for a human, with sudden outbursts as well as her obvious interest in everything alien, and "interest" was an understatement. Some would even mistake Tanil for a man, if it wasn't for her outrageously short and small figure, which either made her look like a week as man or… a woman. Neither would people believe that Tanil was an officer in the Alliance Navy, if it wasn't for the long pink scar that ran from her temple down to her collar bone, though she never let the awkward scar faze her. Being military born and raised, Tanil kept her hair short, not even near her shoulders and swept to the right over her eyes, it gave her a seriousness that fixed her "military mode" that she programmed into herself in order to get through as an officer.

Maybe Kandros was already picking up the fact that Tanil was a little… on the crazy side because he hesitated slightly before taking her hand and shaking it. Tanil seized her chance, pulling Kandros's hand towards her and gingerly inspecting his talons. "Can rip a person to shreds they say. I believe it." Tanil said, tapping her finger against the tip of Kandros's talon before he jerked his hand free. "My bad, never got to meet a turian up close before. One reason why the Alliance sent me here."

"To check out the biology of turians?" Kandros's asked.

Tanil smiled, curious if Kandros meant for that statement to come out so strange. "Not just turians; asari, salarians, and essentially every alien species out there. I'm supposed to study them as well as do tedious paperwork for diplomacy, you know, there was this human spectre that we like to think, screwed up a lot of stuff for us." Tanil explained, adjusting the large bag she carried on over her shoulder. "First, before I go in to deep, I'm assuming the Council arranged an apartment for me? Here on the Citadel."

So this strange ass human was sent from Earth to fix up any loose ends the dead spectre left wide open… it was obvious now why the Alliance sent such a… strange human. Though despite his best efforts, Kandros found himself grinning a little, his mandibles twitching with curiosity. Despite her awkwardness, at least she was curious of other species, rather than be judgmental, like other humans. "This way, Tanil." Kandros said, motioning towards the door, which opened in response.

Tanil smiled. "That sounds better." She said, pleased with the fact that Kandros said her name.


	2. Chapter 2

**Mass Effect: Inspiration**

**The Presidium**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect**

"You know, it may be artificial, but it still has that homey appeal." Tanil said, her arms spread wide as she absorbed the "sun" that shined brightly throughout the Presidium. Normally she would pay more attention to the fact that many aliens kept walking by giving her lewd glances at her strange attitude. It would seem perfectly normal to see someone basking in the artificial sunlight, if that was all Tanil was doing. Instead of standing still to absorb the sunlight, Tanil stood on the railing preventing people from getting to the lakes in the middle of the Presidium, the more eerie part being the fact that Tanil was perfectly balanced on the top bar of the railing with her arms spread out wide.

Kandros stood off to the side, his talons covering his face as he sighed and shook his head; demanding to know why the spirits made it for him to escort this blasted human. At the same time, however, he was curious as to how in the hell Tanil was balancing so perfectly on the railing, was it because of her small figure? Doubtful. "Homey?" Kandros asked, confused at the word.

Tanil spun around, the audience that gathered all gasping to see if she would fall as she suddenly spun around on her toe, still perfectly balanced on the railing. "Yes, reminds me of Earth." She said, jumping down from the railing and giving a slight bow. "Thank you, I'll be here for a couple of years." Tanil said, bowing gracefully to a couple of asari who had taken notice of her antics. The asari giggled and wondered off, making Tanil smile as she turned to her frustrated companion. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

"No, not at all." Kandros groaned, letting his talons slide along down his face.

"Oh no, you were." Tanil started, tapping her chin. "You were grumbling to yourself about why the turian councilor would want you to escort an Alliance officer around the Citadel." She finished, looking at Kandros with a smirk. It was quite obvious her companion was annoyed now, like humans, Tanil had a knack for noticing emotional changes that are evident in posture, pupils, and any other action; the very way Kandros's mandibles twitched gave away his annoyance to the fact that Tanil heard every one of his little ramblings. "In fact, since Shepard was a Spectre, it only leaves to reason that the Council would also help oversee any loose ends. Shepard was an Alliance officer, and thus the Alliance found someone to deal with all the paperwork. I'm more then qualified to sit behind a desk and deal with all the factors that come in after the death of such an important individual." She said, matter of fact, glancing around the market.

"All you do is paperwork then? That's pointless." Kandros said. That's right, turians were more into action weren't they? Doing paperwork was probably tedious nonsense that no real turian would ever dream of doing. Tanil couldn't blame Kandros for thinking that about her current job, but someone had to do the paperwork, even if it was tedious, and it wasn't like she hadn't already seen her share of battles. Tanil's eyes narrowed as she remembered the scar along the side of her face, no matter how gruesome the battles were. "You're doing it again."

Tanil looked back up, noticing Kandros's annoyance again, his mandibles twitching, whoops. Tanil shrugged, walking along with Kandros following behind her. "Someone has to do it, my friend. Plus, it's something I'm good at." She said, freezing and instantly bolting over to a arms store to glance through its wares.

Kandros annoyingly walked up behind Tanil as she scanned through the weapons available for purchase on her omnitool. "Do you even know how to shoot one of those?" he asked.

Tanil froze, soldier mode time, she quickly snapped around, her N7 Paladin she had concealed under her jacket in her hand in a flash and tucked underneath Kandros's chin. "I'm sorry, was that some snark I picked up, soldier? Forgive me if I unload a bullet into your skull." That sure as hell caught Kandros off guard, his eyes widening and his mandibles flaring. Both of them were silent, even as the people behind the counter hid and stared, waiting for the worst. Tanil wasn't stupid, she could fire a gun, hell she could snap a squad of troops into attention without so much as a breath, being so small made her seem weak, until she went into her mode; hell, even now Kandros was a good head taller than her, he could easily take her down if it wasn't for the gun pressing against his plates. No, Tanil could face anyone, she made sure of that long ago, no matter how tall Kandros was, she could easily pin his ass to the ground, but he didn't know that.

"Fair enough." Kandros said, smirking. _What?_ Tanil blinked, her mode suddenly shaken, wait a second. Kandros placed his talons over her hand and lowered the gun, seeing that it was safe to do so due to her bewilderment. "I misjudged you, Commander, seems you deserve more credit than I thought." Kandros motioned to the onlookers that it was okay, and they all started to breathe again.

Tanil brought herself back to reality, lowering her pistol and concealing it to its original spot on her back underneath her jacket. "You were testing me." She realized, glaring up at Kandros who still stood over her.

"I was curious to see if that scar was worth a story, seems it is." Kandros said, taking a step back and turning. Tanil's eyes twitched as she watched Kandros, what the hell was this turian getting at? "Though I would understand why you would never want to speak of it."

"You… what the hell is your plan?" Tanil demanded, catching up with Kandros to stand behind him as he observed the lakes.

"I was testing to see if there was more than just paperwork to you." Kandros said.

"Don't turians usually do that with sparring matches?" Tanil asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I didn't take you for a sparring person, Commander."

Tanil smirked. "I may be pint size, but you'd be surprised with what I'm capable of." She said, looking towards the lakes as she stood beside Kandros. Standing so close to him she felt like an ant, but at the same time, it was reassuring to know that she had a friend who was foot taller than her, who now seemed to respect her.

"I figured there is a lot more that you're capable of then I ever could believe." Kandros said, glancing up towards the artificial sky. "It's getting late."

Tanil glanced up as well, noticing that the sky was darkening. Despite the artificial sky, the Citadel did in fact have days that passed by to make people more comfortable. "Great. Before I know it, it'll be Monday and I'll be back to work, plus days here are shorter." Tanil complained, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"You'll get used to it, besides, what you do for the Council and the Alliance can't be too bad." Kandros said. Tanil chuckled, yeah, if only Kandros knew how hard it was to do the Alliance's dirty work, but that was a secret a turian probably shouldn't know. "I can take you back to your apartment."

Tanil shook her head, "No, I think I can find my way back to the wards by myself. Thank you for the tour, Kandros. Maybe we'll see each other again. In fact, you might find my body someday after the paperwork's killed me." She joked.

Kandros chuckled; his mandibles reacting the way Tanil knew they would. "That would be C-sec's job, not mine. Though Sparatus will be pleased to inform me of your passing." He said.

"Nice to know they'll notify the turian councilor when I die." Tanil said, spinning on her heel. "Maybe we can have a drink some time before then." She added, turning her head to see Kandros's look of curiosity, she winked and then turned back to begin walking.

Kandros stood where Tanil left him for a while, watching her walk away. She was small, that was for sure, but her small figure was made up with her flexibility and strength, something he didn't quite expect from her. It wasn't just Tanil either; he never expected such a thing from any human, just goes to show that appearances weren't everything. Kandros tilted his head, continuing to watch Tanil's fleeting form, although in this case, he hoped appearances were correct, he quickly blinked. Wait a second, did he just check out her ass?

The apartment was small, but just the same, it was all she needed in order to survive. There wasn't any kitchen, a small bathroom, a desk, and of course her bed. At least the bed was a queen sized, Tanil couldn't complain about that. There was a mirror in the bathroom that she head to first, resting her hands on the rim of the sink. There was only 20 hours in a day here on the Citadel, but it felt like a lot longer than that; then again, this was the first chance she had gotten to actually rest a bit.

Tanil stared at the stainless steel of the sink for a while before turning it on and letting hot water run from the faucet. She cupped her hands, letting them fill with the water before splashing it on to her face. She let the water drip off her face as she slowly glanced up, seeing her reflection in the mirror. There it was, so visible on the left side of her face. Tanil slowly reached up, tracing her finger slowly down the permanent scar that trailed down the left side of her face all the way to her collar bone.

How long ago was it?

_"You suffer from PTSD. It's perfectly normal for a person in your case. The Skyllian Blitz was no small matter, you were at a young age and seeing that happen before you caused this disorder to take hold." The doctor said. "You'll be monitored, and I'm afraid to say, you will probably be taken off of field duty. Now that you've been diagnosed, things will be handled differently now."_

_"I didn't sign up to be a damned desk jockey!"_

_"There's nothing dishonorable about being off the field. You'll be working with high ranking personnel, but for now you will remain on Earth until your condition is deemed handled enough for you to be shipped off world. You're a good soldier, the Alliance needs officers like you, but we also need to take care of you. The scar you received during the battle is a bad reminder for you, and unfortunately that reminder will always be there for you." Damn doctors._

It was a deep cut, deep enough for the scar to still appear red and fresh to a point. Tanil continued to stare; she could almost feel the same burning pain on the side of her face as she had felt seven years ago. The Alliance had no attention of losing her as a solider due to her capabilities, but no soldier wants to hear the dreadful news that was "you can't fight anymore", what the hell was the point of enlisting if the Alliance stripped you of your command. That's why Tanil was a pencil pusher now, years of monitoring and pills, she was finally able to be shipped off Earth and to somewhere new. The Alliance couldn't help but appreciate the fact that Tanil didn't break despite everything, no, she had her mode, and as long as she had that, there was no way she was going to lose it.

Tanil shook her head, reaching for a towel that sat folded on the small shelving in the bathroom. Now wasn't the time to focus on the past, of course, it never was the time. Tanil dried her face and lazily tossed the towel back onto the shelves as she left the bathroom. Her bag sat at the foot of the bed, the desk sitting right next to her, pushed up against the wall to the bathroom. The foot of the bed was only a few feet from her; it was a small apartment, but it made due. Tanil took a few steps before collapsing onto the bed, in a few more days she would be back in that office, back in her uniform and back to work. Damn.

Tanil rolled over, her eyes to the ceiling of the tiny apartment, there weren't any windows, something she could live without. Tanil sat up, glancing at her omnitool, no doubt the Alliance had sent her a message to inform her what needed to be dealt with first once she got back to work. Tanil scanned through her messages, scrolling through the omnitools features before stopping as the one subject line that caught her eye iNormandy Pilot/i. Oh shit.

Tanil clicked the message, the entire email popping up on her omnitool display. Jeff Moreau, knowing her job, Tanil had already familiarized herself with the entire crew of the Normandy. Jeff "Joker" Moreau, he was an excellent pilot, despite his Vrolik syndrome, who just happened to be the pilot of the Normandy, great… Tanil's eyes suddenly widened as she scanned through the entirety of the message. One word caught her eye that made Tanil grit her teeth.

_Grounded._

Tanil stood up, closing down her omnitool as she began to angrily pace the room. Damn the Alliance, they weren't just making her do the dirty work, they were making her ground a pilot, which any pilot knew was another word for: you're fired.


	3. Chapter 3

**Mass Effect: Inspiration**

**That Spark**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect**

At first, it was something small, something he could easily forget. This human was crazy and insane, to a point. There was nothing interesting about her; she was a human, whoopdedoo. Though, even as he kept telling himself this, he couldn't help but constantly think about Commander Reynolds. Kandros sighed, it wasn't like three days ago when he caught himself checking her out as she walked away, no, this time it was different. This time she kept lingering on his mind, he kept wondering what she was doing currently, what was the story behind the scar on the side of her face, why did she act the way she did sometimes, and where did she go when she spaced out? More importantly, why did she space out?

There was something Tanil was hiding, Kandros could feel it, but he had no idea what it was, though it may in fact be her job, and whatever secret things she needed to do for the Alliance as well as the Council. Amazing, a human working for both the Alliance and the Council to deal with the death of a spectre, he never imagined it would be so hard to deal with the death of a spectre. Why the hell was he even thinking about her right now? No, he was probably never going to see her again since she was too busy with… whatever she was doing for her job. Kandros quickly shook his head, shaking off the thoughts of Tanil, focus on something else. Kandros glanced around, enjoying the beauty of the Presidium, in peace, and without a human tagging along. Though Tanil was right, the artificial sun light did make the Citadel seem more… homey. Spirits, he was thinking about her again….

Kandros continued walking through the market, keeping his eyes to the scenery and enjoying the sights, trying his best to stop his mine from wondering back to the image of Tanil's scar. He was failing at it too… Spirits. Kandros's eyes stopped wondering towards Apollo's Café, at a lone human sitting at a table with a data pad in hand. It couldn't be, if it was she looked like a wreck, even if all he saw the back of her head. Her hair looked like a mess and she was sort of… stooped over the table while she was looking at her data pad. Maybe Tanil got some bad news recently? Kandros took cautious steps towards the human at the table, was it even her? Tanil wasn't in her uniform, nor was she wearing the jacket she had on the other day, instead she was wearing a white T-shirt and pants. The thing that really made Tanil look like a wreck from a distance was the fact that her hair looked like she had just been rolling around in her bed all night and her clothing looked way too big for a human her size.

Kandros kept steadily approaching the table with the woman, a little bit closer and he would be able to notice if she had a scar on her face or not, lucky for him in the spot she was sitting he could see the left side of her face. Kandros suddenly froze, his eyes instantly landing on the scar that rang down the length of Tanil's face, so it was her; she looked like shit. Kandros could see now that Tanil's eyes were blood shot, now it was obvious that she hadn't slept.

Tanil stood at the table, a cup full of cold coffee sat next to her elbow that was propped up on the table as her hand held the data pad, her other hand rested in a ball against her cheek as she studied the information on her data pad. She was in her own little world as her eyes scanned across the endless amount of words on the pad, she didn't even know that Kandros was standing over her next to the table. The spark that was usually in her eyes had diminished and were now replaced by blood from her lack of sleep and about any color had completely drained from her face, the only color being the redness of her scar.

"Spirits, you look like shit."

Tanil moved, blinking some tears into her eyes, she felt like she had been staring at the damned data pad forever that she had even forgot to blink. Tanil slowly moved her head, catching the figure at the corner of her eye and making her head tilt up to see a Turian looking down at her. The familiar white stripe on his mandible caught her eye, and his body language automatically told her he was concerned; she quickly forced a smile from her lips. "Kandros, thanks for noticing." She said, her voice was a hoarse and she quickly coughed to clear her throat. "Sorry about that." Her voice was normal now, but she could tell that didn't make Kandros worry any less.

"What's happened to you? I only let you go three days ago." Kandros noticed, taking a seat at the table, he didn't care if Tanil didn't invite him to sit; this was serious.

Tanil sighed, lowering her data pad and slowly running a hand through her hair. "Nothing, I'm fine, just not used to living in such short days. Twenty-four days and then down to twenty, I'm just not used to it." Tanil said, trying her best to sound normal, Kandros obviously wasn't buying it.

"Don't lie to me, I can tell when you're lying to me. Spirits, have you seen yourself in a mirror?" Kandros asked, the amount of blood in Tanil's eyes was scary. Tanil held back her laugh, he could tell when she was lying but she could read Kandros like he was a book. Kandros was right, she had refused to look at her reflection since she first did when she entered her apartment for the first time that first night, seeing the scar brought back to many memories, but even without seeing it, she still couldn't sleep.

"I'm fine Kandros. I've just been busy doing homework for the Alliance." Tanil explained, blinking a couple of times to try and bring back some life to herself.

"Homework?"

Tanil held up the data pad. "I got a message from the Alliance the other day. They want me to deal with the entire crew of the Normandy. Thank them for their service to the Council and the Alliance, blah blah. They want me to give them compensation for their help in the battles against Saren and the Geth. They're giving me everything at my disposal to make the crew members happy. Unfortunately, for most of the Alliance troops, I'm essentially firing all of them, an "honorable" discharge for their unwavering service to the Alliance. For all the alien crew members I have to say thanks but we don't appreciate having aliens within the Alliance. The compensation I'm giving the aliens has to be good enough for the Alliance to look good, unfortunately… I don't have their personnel files to even think about any type of compensation." Tanil explained, dropping the data pad on the table. "I've been reading through the entirety of the reports that Shepard submitted to the Council for any sort of clue on the non-Alliance crew members but I got nothing. Once I figure out what to do for them I then have to go through miles of paperwork to let it slide, the Alliance will let it happen no matter what, I just have to fill everything out."

Kandros listened intently, lightly scratching his mandible as the thought about it. "Maybe I can help you at least. One of the crew members was a turian, if I recall."

Tanil picked up the data pad, quickly skimming through the alien crew members. "A quarian, a krogan, an asari, and… one turian, Garrus Vakarian." She said, surprised by the fact that Kandros knew there was a turian in the crew.

Kandros nodded, "Of course, Vakarian, how could I forget. He used to work for C-Sec until he ran off with Commander Shepard to take down Saren. I can give you an easy answer for what to get him." He said, smiling a little bit.

Tanil's eye brow raised, curious that Kandros could even figure out what the hell to give Garrus when she couldn't. "What?"

"A sniper rifle."

Tanil quickly covered her mouth to muffle her sudden burst of laughter. "I'm being serious! I can't just give this guy a sniper rifle! I have to give him something more a job maybe! He quit C-Sec too, that's even more of a reason for me to get him something more other than a damn sniper rifle!" she said, still holding back laughter.

"A job? You can do that?"

Tanil took a deep breath, calming herself from the stupid answer… a sniper rifle, spirits… what? "I can do anything remember. The Alliance and the Council is giving me anything for compensating the crew of the Normandy. I can get Vakarian a job, hell I can do that for anyone. I already have that down for the majority of the Alliance crew members. The only problem is what job to get those who aren't Alliance; I don't know their skill sets or what they're interested in. As far as I can tell the asari, Dr. T'soni, is a scientist who researches Protheans she was the daughter of a matriarch. The quarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, you know quarian on her pilgrimage; the best thing I can think of doing for her is sending her a bottle of antibiotics. The krogan, sp-.." Tanil stopped herself from saying spirits. "I'm tempted to buy him a pair of testicles from a random alien."

"I would suggest, for a krogan, just some medicine for his people. I'd prefer you not go off and chop someone's…" Kandros stopped; no, he was not going to say that. "I can't help you with the quarian, but might I suggest something for Vakarian and the asari?" Tanil nodded, though it looked like she was up for any suggestions at this point. "Vakarian is an excellent soldier, good with a sniper rifle. I can easily pull a few strings to get him his own squad. After working with Commander Shepard, he probably has a sense of justice now, you can use that. Give him the resources he needs to make a difference where it matters, I would suggest putting Omega into his head, a lot of difference needs to be made there." Tanil considered it, rubbing her chin; Kandros was right, she had never been there, but everyone knew what kind of dive Omega was.

"As for the asari, they can make for pretty good information brokers. It sounds like Dr. T'soni already knows a lot about Protheans, and that's information a lot of people want to know, that can be her starting point as a new job, if she finds and interest in it she can expand her business. As for where to start as an information broker, send her to Illium, it's the best planet for her to start at." Kandros said, despite his best efforts, he found himself leaning forward as he talked with Tanil; he was actually enjoying talking with her again.

Tanil rubbed her eyes slightly, the lack of sleep was getting to her a little. "That's not a bad idea. I can definitely get her some clients to start with as well, and I can more than easily get her transportation to Illium." She said, instantly opening up her omni-tool to jot down the notes for Dr. T'soni and Vakarian. "At least with this now I'll have less homework to figure out when I finally get back to work at my office." She closed down her omni-tool and rubbed her eyes, she was exhausted but she finally organized what the hell to do for the majority of the crew members now. Tanil sighed, looking up at Kandros who was now looking very pleased with helping her, and relaxed to be around her. She didn't smile, but it was nice to know that Kandros wasn't actually annoyed to be around her anymore, granted she wasn't being strange and crazy today, she was actually… normal, so to speak. "Thank you, Kandros. It wasn't much, but you really helped me out." She said, grabbing the cold cup of coffee.

Kandros smiled, and found himself reaching out and resting his hand on Tanil's forearm, making her look up with surprise. "Anytime, Tanil." He said, Tanil found herself staring, unsure of what the hell she was reading off of Kandros; she knew body language but this, she had no idea what this was that she saw now. Kandros stood up then, letting go of Tanil's forearm. "Take care of yourself; I'll be looking forward to that drink you said we'd share." Kandros turned, and walked away, Tanil quickly turned and watched Kandros leave. Tanil continued to stare, watching as Kandros looked over his shoulder for a second to see her still bewildered expression and it made him grin.

Tanil leaned back, looking back at the table as she tried to sort out what the hell she just saw from Kandros. She had a lot of experience with emotions and facial expressions, as well as body language, but right now, she was at a loss of what she just saw from Kandros.

Tanil was in her apartment, the data pad with information on the Normandy's crew was sitting on the desk next to the bathroom while Tanil sat at the foot of the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. She was still busily trying to sort out what happened today with Kandros, but at the same time, she was trying to get herself to fall asleep, good luck with that.

When Tanil was alone, it was hard to enter the mode to get rid of the thoughts. Even now, she could feel her hands shaking slightly as she held her knees to her chest, she kept her breathing steady but she felt her whole body trembling. Every time she tried to close her eyes she saw the same thing over and over again, she saw it even now, but she had to keep her cool. The side of Tanil's face burned, it felt as if the scar was no longer scar, but the deep gash that she had received during the battle. Blood dripped down her face, rolling down and dripping at her chin.

Tanil shook, keeping her eyes straight, ignoring the feeling of blood now on her hands. There were people screaming, gun fires, people running by and screaming or falling over, dead. Tanil watched as the events started to unfold in her apartment, there was a dead body in front of her, a friend of hers who got shot, blood and guts spilling out of him from the intense puncture wounds. A pistol was beside her, the very same N7 Paladin that she carried around with her now, it had saved her then, and she kept it on her person ever since. A dead batarian was nearby, the pirate that took an omni-blade to Tanil's face, giving her the bleeding gash on the side of her face. Alliance troops were falling back, there were just too many batarians, they came looking to wipe out the colony, and there was no way they could stand a chance. Tanil glanced over at the pistol and took it in her hand, she left her dead friend there, and shooting down as many batarians she could before retreating with the rest of the Alliance troops.

Tanil sat at the foot of her bed still, the pain from the scar was gone, and the feeling of blood was no longer there. She stared forward, closing her eyes slightly as she buried her face in her hands, so much for sleeping tonight. Tanil got up and went to the data pad sitting on the desk, at least she could do more work to burn through the night, it was only 6 hours on the Citadel at least.


	4. Chapter 4

**Mass Effect: Inspiration**

**Normandy's Crew**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect**

Tanil sat in her office. It was awkwardly quiet, but it felt good to be working again. Already, she had lined up meetings throughout the entire week with the crew of the Normandy SR1. The ship was destroyed so it was her responsibility to get everyone new assignments, though, as for the nonhuman crew members, she was tasked with giving them "compensation". Compensation normally could have been something nice and simple, but these were aliens. The crew was a team; they all worked for the Alliance, and unfortunately it was Tanil's job to nicely say: get the hell out, to all the aliens. The compensation had to be something big; something important that would give the Alliance better face.

Everything was in order; everything was perfect compensations for each alien crew member. Thanks to the help from Kandros, she decided what to do for the turian as well as the krogan. All she needed to do was inform them and to see if they would accept it. Once the crew member accepted the compensation, it took one click, one email, and more paperwork to ensure everything went through smoothly.

Tanil stared at her office door, drumming her fingers together and smiling. Working was good, kept her mind going, kept her in the mode. She had equally spaced out human crew members throughout the entire week while putting one alien each day to spice things up. The human crew members were easy, five crew members a day, all it took was paperwork and informing them of their new assignment. Easy. She had dealt with all the humans for today but now, now it was time to deal with aliens. Tanil glanced at her terminal, up next… Urdnot Wrex?

The door probably would have busted open if it wasn't for the fact that the door had automatically opened before getting hit, bending the edges of the door. Tanil's eyes widened, now understanding why people shouted "krogan charging".

"What do you want human?" Wrex demanded, the doors trying to close, but failing due to the damage.

Tanil instantly regained herself, shoving a data pad across the desk. "Thank you for your service to the Alliance and the Council. As thanks, I'm sending first aid supplies to Tuchunka to help you with reforming the krogan clans. I agree with your ideals and I want to help by giving you supplies. I hear krogans like shot guns, I can get you a real nice one." She hurriedly said, she felt like she was talking too fast, but she always naturally kept herself at a speed that people could actually hear and understand what she was saying. Either way, Wrex was stunned, and he angrily picked up the data pad.

"You can supply all this?"

Tanil quickly nodded. "It's no cure for the genophage, but it's the best I can do for you and your people, Wrex." She said. "I'll do it right now; you can fly back to Tuchunka with the cargo." Wrex seemed even more confused, of course he couldn't complain.

"Fine. Thanks human." Wrex started to leave.

"Wait!" Tanil shouted, making Wrex turn back around. "Be honest with me." Tanil leaned forward, resting her elbows on her desk. "Would a pair of testes be a better present?"

Tanil rubbed her head; the door was fixed at least since the events of yesterday. Of course, the door was even worse off after Wrex had left, because he had charged out.

Tanil smiled, remembering Wrex's expression. The best way to find out facial expressions and body language was by shocking the hell out of them like she did yesterday. Call it… research, if you will, and it was damn fun. Tanil glanced at her terminal, glancing at her next appointment that was visible on her screen. So, it was the quarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya was up next. Unfortunately there wasn't much benefit when popping a weird question since Tanil couldn't see any expressions through the mask. Nevertheless, it would still be entertaining to see how the quarian would react. Tanil smiled, plus she had no idea how Tali would react, much less a quarian.

The door hissed open, enter the quarian. Tanil smiled, leaning back in her chair with her hands together. "Thank you for coming, Tali'Zorah, this will be quick. My name is Commander Reynolds and it is my job to thank you for your service to the Alliance and the Council. It is also my job to give you any compensation," Tanil leaned over the desk. "I can get you at least some geth tech that we salvaged after the attack on the Citadel, as well as a one way trip back to the Flotilla, back home. I understand this is the end of your Pilgrimage; maybe coming home with some helpful geth tech will make you look good."

"Geth tech?" Tali asked.

Tanil nodded, "Not to worry. It's perfectly safe. I checked the tech myself, it'll help your people; I'm sure. It's the best compensation I can give you, considering." Tanil said, standing up. "Hopefully it'll be enough to help, at least a little bit."

"Thank you, Commander. This is more than I could ask for from the Alliance." Tali said, Tanil held up a hand to stop her.

"Please, the Alliance does what it can to help its image towards aliens. This isn't much to help your people; I'm only trying my best to compensate you for all your work with Commander Shepard. I only wish I could have done something more." Tanil said, lowering her hand. "That is all. I can arrange your transport right now, I'm sure your family is waiting for you."

Tali nodded. "Thank you for this Commander." She said, turning to leave with her data pad in hand.

"Please, a moment if you would, before you leave." Tanil called, making Tali turn back around. "I wanted to ask you a quick question." Tanil shifted her back, feeling a satisfying crack as she quickly thought up an adequate question. "How do quarians have sex if they're in an environmental suit?"

Tali was silent for a moment, until she took a seat in front of the desk. "Well, you see, we usually take antibiotics for a couple of days to prepare ourselves."

Tanil quickly glanced through her terminal, frantically looking through all the data before pulling up her next appointment. The asari, Dr. Liara T'soni was the next alien prey to enter Tanil's office. Tanil happily rubbed her palms together, after such a sudden reaction from Tali yesterday; she was excited to see how an asari would react to questioning. Tanil closed down everything on her terminal before sitting back and quickly thinking up an appropriate question to shock the hell out of Dr. T'soni. Something sex related usually always did it, might as well stick to that. Though with an asari, it was interesting because they mated with any species as well as any gender. Tanil lurched forward, snapping her fingers together, excellent; she had a good question to ask the doctor.

The door hissed open, why didn't people knock? Tanil shook her head, it didn't matter, her eyes locked on the asari who had entered the office. She had to admit, with the right asari, Tanil could easily imagine herself in bed with one, even if she was straight. Tanil resisted the urge to smile, there was just something about them, oh right, the mind binding thing.

Tanil stood up. "Dr. T'soni, my name is Commander Tanil Reynolds. Thank you for coming, I'll be brief." She said, motioning to the chair. "Would you like to take a seat?"

"Yes, thank you." Liara took the seat, she seemed nervous, that was to be expected since she had no idea why she was here in the first place.

Tanil sat down as well. "No need to be nervous, doctor. I'm a representative of the Alliance and the Council, my job is to thank you for your service as well as provide you with compensation for your help." She said, seeing Liara instantly relax, she was young, for an asari of course, Tanil thought to herself, recalling the personnel file on Liara's age. Tanil grabbed a data pad next to her terminal and handed it over to Liara, who leaned forward and grabbed it. "It isn't much, but it's an opportunity. I noticed that you're a prothean scientist, an aspiring career, but I'd like to suggest something else."

Tanil glanced at her terminal and opened up a few windows. "Do you know what an information broker is? It's a person who can acquire information for clients, for a price. It's a good career choice, subtle, and a new chance, a new life." Tanil explained, scanning through the information on the terminal. "I know it's hard, being a prothean scientist has probably been your life's pursuit. Just hear me out, there are many rich potential clients out there, all of whom are looking for little details of the protheans, trust me, they like eating that shit up. You'll have good money, and any information you stumble upon can greatly help the Alliance as well as the Council." She continued, scanning through Shepard's report about the reapers, better not bring that up. "Who knows when we might need information in the future; it'll come in hand in the long run. You'll be doing yourself a lot of good by becoming an information broker."

Liara looked sad, almost at the verge of tears, of course she had almost nothing left; during the time she helped Commander Shepard, her mother had died, and now Shepard was gone, that must be hard. "I wouldn't even know where to start." Liara finally said.

Tanil smiled, "Well, that's where I come in." she explained, motioning to the data pad Liara had in her hand. "Illium, it's the best place for a budding information broker to start off at. I can arrange transport for you, as well as start you off with some good clients. It'll be easy, I'll get you a good place to start off, and you'll naturally take it into your own hands afterwards. I think you'll be a natural at it, once you get your feet in place." Tanil said. "I can arrange a transport for you as soon as possible if you like the idea."

Liara looked like she was thinking, that was good, she was actually considering the idea. "You'll do fine, Liara." Tanil said, helping Liara develop some confidence. "It'll give you a clean slate."

"I would never expect the Alliance to give this as… compensation?" Liara noted.

Tanil nodded, "Normally no, but your prothean knowledge really helped Commander Shepard in the long run, you deserve something like this. It's the best I can do for you too." She said, opening up another window on her terminal. "Just say the word or you can take a night to consider it."

"I'll consider it. Thank you, Commander Reynolds." Liara got up from her seat and began to leave, perfect.

"A moment, if you will, Dr. T'soni." Liara turned back around, looking at Tanil curiously, who now had a smile on her face. "I just want to ask you one quick question." Tanil leaned against her desk, resting her elbows on the desk… once again. "Different species, would you go for a penis or a vagina?"

"Oh goddess…."

"Yeah I know, but seriously now, would you pick a female or a male of a different species?" Tanil asked again.

Tanil held her head in her hand, smiling and laughing to herself. Asking such an absurd question of an asari was too entertaining. Tanil chuckled, remembering yesterday as she glanced at her terminal. The last person to deal with was the turian, and that was simple enough. If it wasn't for Kandros's help, she would have no idea what to do, but now she knew what to do for compensation.

The door hissed open and Garrus Vakarian entered, a turian, Tanil raised an eyebrow, and quite a stud. Tanil stood up, of course formalities, she had to remember that. "Garrus Vakarian, thank you for coming. My name is Commander Tanil Reynolds; I hear you're pretty good with a sniper rifle." She said, extending her hand, which Garrus took and shook.

"Who told you that?"

"Oraka, Kandros Oraka, you may have heard of him. Please, have a seat so we can get started, I'll try and make this brief." Tanil said, taking a seat while Garrus took his. "I'm here representing the Alliance as well as the Council, we hope to thank you for your services to both and it is my job to give you compensations as a way of thanking you for your help." She explained, grabbing a data pad sitting on the desk. "I understand you used to work for C-Sec, don't worry, I won't arrange you being with them again, but I have an idea for something better." She handed Garrus the data pad. "Something that'll result in more action."

"What is this?"

Tanil leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. "A tactical team. There's a lot of good that can be down out there, a lot more then C-Sec could ever do on the Citadel. It's only a suggestion for you, go out there and do some real good, take down gangs and stuff, make sure justice is served. First part, I'd suggest Omega, it's the biggest place that needs a lot of help. Assemble a team, I'll provide all the necessary supplies and you'll be out there, kicking it to the man." Tanil explained, watching Garrus look through the data pad.

"This is… interesting." Garrus said, Tanil smiled slightly, so Kandros was right.

"You can think about it, or I can arrange everything now. Either way, you have to pick the team, I have a few suggestions, but ultimately, I'm supplying all the ammo, and shipping you to Omega to do some real good." Tanil finished, leaning back in her chair. "Make a decision, and let me know if you'll accept this… opportunity. You'll do some real good out there, Garrus, some justice needs to be taken out in the Terminus, and I think you're the man to do it."

"I'll think about it." Garrus said, lowering the data pad. "But it does sound promising." He got up from his chair, Tanil smiled, quickly devising the perfect question to pop. "Thank you for the suggestion, Commander."

Tanil leaned forward again, still smiling. "A moment before you go, Vakarian. I have one crucial question I want to ask you." She asked, Garrus turned around and stared, boy was this going to be a nice one. "Can I see your penis?"

"I should go."


	5. Chapter 5

**Mass Effect: Inspiration**

**One Shot Too Many**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect.**

"I understand your anger, Flight Lieutenant, but the decision to ground you is made by the Alliance, not me." Tanil said, intertwining her fingers and leaning forward. If it wasn't for Joker's brittle bones, she knew full well he would crawl across the desk and deck her across the face. Thank the spirits for brittle bones. Tanil blinked, damn it, turians were starting to rub off on her. Of course, that was better than by the goddess, talking nonstop, or head butting people.

Tanil blinked again, no, dammit, Joker was talking, focus. "Commander Shepard would never allow this." Joker said.

Tanil leaned forward, resting her elbows on her desk as she observed Joker. "I understand that, Moreau, but this is a new time. The SS Normandy is gone; Commander Shepard is dead, and I'm the one here to do the Alliance's dirty work. Humanity may be in the Council now, but that doesn't mean the Alliance necessarily agreed with what Shepard had arranged while she was a spectre." Tanil explained, Joker sitting back in his chair and rolling his eyes. Being grounded was a thing no pilot wanted to hear. For someone with Joker's skill and… disability, it was probably devastating for him to hear a pencil pusher say that you're grounded, and you can't walk.

"I would like to help you Moreau, but these are the orders. I can't help you." Tanil continued, she had a way of giving bad news, maybe that's why the Alliance always pushed it on her. "If you really want to fly again…" Tanil grabbed a data pad and placed it on the desk in front of Joker. "I would look somewhere else, Jeff."

Joker leaned forward, grabbing the data pad. Resignation, there was no way the Alliance was going to let Joker fly another ship, Tanil knew she was giving him an option for a new life. "What's this?"

Tanil sat back, resting her elbows on the arms of her chair, her fingers still laced together. "Your resignation, the Alliance will keep you grounded, unless you resign and find work somewhere else. That is for you to decide. I'm giving you a chance, Jeff. You'll get discharged, and I can easily bring you back in should things change. You're talented, Jeff, and your skills shouldn't be wasted, not here." Tanil went on, noticing Joker's surprise. This job gave her another advantage other than being on the Citadel; she could easily pull strings, anything to patch up the loss of Commander Shepard. "Say the word and you'll be free."

Joker stared at the data for a long time in silence; he was still surprised by the offer. Who wouldn't be? Who gives an opportunity like this? Tanil smiled slightly, just small enough for Joker not to notice, she did. "Just think about it, Jeff, send me a message once you've slept on it, and I'll handle everything." Tanil said, drawing Joker's attention back to Earth… so to speak. Joker got up after a minute, saluted, and limped away with the data pad in hand.

The door fizzed shut, Tanil slumped against her chair, rubbing her temples with her fingers. Joker would send his response, probably a yes, and then it would be more paperwork. It was tempting to just unbuckle her uniform and sit there, but anyone could come through that door, and the work would continue. Was there a harder position out there; probably personal slave to Udina, poor Anderson. Tanil smiled, thinking about Ander'sons job; yeah, that was a hard job. The only reason Tanil got the second worse job in the galaxy was because of her knowledge, and the fact that she could hold her composure, despite her mental instability.

In battle, in a war meeting, when being faced with anything; Tanil could hold herself, go into her 'mode' and stay in it till the door closed, until the last shot was fired. Even when the door closed, she would refuse to break down or let the pressure completely crush her. Even just a few minutes ago, she was grounding an angry pilot, yet she kept her cool, carried out the orders and got the job done. As long as the higher ups didn't start reading her mind, then she would be classified as unfit for work. Tanil smiled, tapping her bottom lip, the mind was a safe place, you could scream your heart out within your brain, but continue to keep the military composure. No one had to know that in your mind you were playing music to keep the cool. The mind was the only place to go to in this position, given a hard ass job? Reside all the hatred in your mind and get the damn job done. Not everyone agreed with turians, but they got things accomplished no matter what; who knew what their methods were, but they were advancing quickly.

Damn! Tanil cursed, biting the tip of her thumb, she was thinking about turian culture again. Though it was a big improvement compared to thinking about the biotic capabilities of an asari. Tanil gently rubbed the bridge of her nose, how many more crew members were there to go through? If there was another one like Joker, she might go insane. Might.

The door hissed open and Tanil immediately snapped to attention towards the door. The mode instantly went away. "Kandros?"

"Commander Reynolds." Kandros replied.

Kandros was wearing armor, seemed like both of them were on duty today. The armor was black with an occasional blue highlight, it looked good on him; it made Tanil smile.

"Oraka." Tanil said, closing down everything on her terminal. "How can I help you?" Even if it was her friend, she was still on duty.

"Kandros, I'm off duty starting…" Kandros stood still for about a minutes. "now, and so are you, by the order of Sparatus."

"Sparatus? The turian councilor is making me take a break?" Tanil asked, a smile creasing her face at the thought of relaxing with Kandros.

"To a point, yes. You work for both if you recall. Let's go have a drink at Purgatory." Kandros said he was smiling; he was excited, which pleased Tanil, to see that her friend actually enjoyed her company now. Humans, well, not necessarily hated, but would rather be seen dead then with her in public. Letting Kandros know that he was her only friend sounded too depressing; so he didn't need to know.

"Sounds like an idea, but I still have work to do. I can't just get up and leave. I still have some paperwork to do and more crew members to speak to, more strings to pull, and when I'm done I have more work." Tanil started everything she had to do started coming to her mind as she began to make a mental list. What to do when joker made his decision, and arranging transportation for Dr. T'soni; she didn't even notice that Kandros had walked up and was standing right in front of her desk.

"No." Kandros said his voice stern and ripping Tanil from her mind. "You are leaving this office. I know for a fact that you haven't slept in days. You're working yourself too hard, even turians need to stop and burn off some steam. You are going to do that now, by coming with me and getting trashed at a bar. After that, you WILL get some damned rest."

If it wasn't for Tanil's ability to read body language, she would think he was bad, but that wasn't it. Tanil lowered her gaze to stare at her desk, he was worried. It was true that she hadn't been sleeping, but this work wasn't the thing preventing a good night's rest, he didn't need to know about the scar. Tanil's hands shook, but they were resting on her lap, so Kandros couldn't notice; she was resisting the urge to touch the scar, she could feel the side of her face burning, almost feel blood rolling down her neck. Tanil stared at her hands resting on her lap; they were covered in blood, resting on the bloodied torso of her friend, rather than her lap. Tanil glanced off to the side for the pistol, it was supposed to be there, but it wasn't.

"Tanil."

The blood disappeared, the gash on her face returned to a scar and Tanil finally glanced back up at Kandros, back to normal. "Fine! I'll go for a drink." Tanil said, getting up from her desk. "But if I end up in bed with a salarian, I'm blaming you."

Kandros relaxed then, but he knew there was something wrong that she wasn't telling him. Maybe alcohol worked as a truth serum for her?

The music was booming. Tanil glanced around the club, watching the lights dance around the entire area. It had been a long time since she had last had a drink, maybe it was due time for a couple of shots. Kandros had taken the time to get out of his armor, but Tanil was still in uniform with her officer's jacket. It felt awkward to be there while still in uniform, but her being pulled form work sodduenly didn't give her a chance to put something else on.

They both headed to the lower bar, each of them grabbing a drink and taking a seat at a booth. Tanil took a sip of her ice brandy, glancing at Kandros over the rim of her glass, keeping an eye on Kandros's mood as he drank. As the night went on, she doubted she would be able to keep a tab on his body language.

"I heard you gave quite a shock to the majority of the Normandy's crew." Kandros said, enjoying Tanil's reaction of her choking on her brandy. "Must have been quite a sight."

Tanil quickly wiped her chin and set down her glass. "Don't tell me, Vakarian spoke to you?"

Kandros chuckled and lifted his glass towards her. "I must admit, when you have something in your head, it doesn't always stay there. So you must tell me." He said, taking a sip of his drink. "Did Garrus show you his penis?"

Tanil smiled slightly, noting Kandros's amusement, as well as his genuine curiosity. "No, he fled my office as fast as he could. The only crewman that actually didn't mind answer my lewd questions was the quarian, Tali'Zorah." Tanil explained, recounting the events with Tali in her mind. "Apparently turian chocolate is quite divine." Tali lowered her glass, thinking. "Too bad I can't eat it."

"That depends on if you're allergic to dextro-proteins." Kandros said. "If you had an allergic reaction to this drink, that would mean you're allergic." He was curious, Tanil watched Kandros, why would he be curious if she was allergic? Interesting.

"As far as I know, I'm not allergic to anything." Tanil sipped her drink, a through popping into her mind, more time to screw with Kandros. "Good thing Garrus didn't show me his penis."

Kandros smiled, he seemed really happy knowing that. "Maybe you should get tested." He said.

Tanil placed her glass on the table and reached across the table. "Let me try your drink."

Kandros instantly hesitated. "Right and what if you're severely allergic?" he asked.

"You take me to the hospital. Just hand me the drink." Tanil complained, Kandros seemed hesitant at first but eventually he handed over his glass. Tanil took the green liquid, swirling it around the glass… before downing the entire glass.

Kandros's mouth dropped and he quickly reached over to snatch his glass back from Tanil's hand. "Are you crazy?!" he demanded, he looked so panicked.

Tanil laughed, she was enjoying seeing Kandros so worried. "Relax; I drink turian alcohol all the time. It just knows me on my ass faster." She said, still laughing at Kandros's reaction.

"You scared me half to death! Spirits, what were you thinking?" Kandros froze. "You knew you weren't allergic…." He realized.

Tanil smiled and playfully stuck out her tongue. "It's cute to see you worry about me, Kandros. I didn't know you cared." Tanil said, finishing off her drink, the alcohol slowly starting to get to her. She watched Kandros suddenly become flustered that it made, her giggle.

"Alright, if that's how it's going to be; I'm going to get us both another round." Kandros said, getting up and heading to the bar. He arrived back to the table after a few minutes with a tray of ten shots, five for each of them. Kandros sat down across from Tanil and set out the shots. "Turian brandy, let's see how well you can hold your liquor, Reynolds."

Tanil limberly grabbed a shot and held it up, smiling suggestively; she still had a grasp to notice Kandros was excited, and he was planning something. "You'd be surprised how well I can manage." Kandros held up a shot as well. "Bottom's up."

Knadros watched Tanil, the side of her head was resting on the table; ten empty shot glasses sat in front of Tanil's head. Kandros looked down at his own glasses, seven empty while three still had liquor left in them. Tanil did well, he had already reached the point where he knew one shot would knock him out. The music was still booming in the bar, but most people had already staggered back to the wards. Kandros glanced around the bar, fairly empty, a few turians and asari still hung round, surprisingly, there weren't any humans left in Purgatory.

"Tanil." Kandros said, tapping on her outstretched arm with his talon. "Tanil." Tanil groaned, moving her head slightly. "You going to throw up?" he asked.

"You ill nevah shee me drow up." Tanil grumbled, her words were jumbled now, but he understood her still.

"Even in the morning?" Kandros asked, he was amused to see Tanil like this, normal almost, lately she had looked like death itself. Here, at the bar, it looked like she was calmer, like whatever was haunting her was gone, for now.

"Nevah drow up." Tanil mumbled again and groaned. The turian brandy really knocked her on her ass. Tanil rocked her head back and forth, lifting her head up to rest on her hand. Tanil's eyes were closed, it looked like she was thinking, or at least trying to make the world stop spinning.

Kandros watched Tanil, her eyebrows occasionally scrunching and relaxing. What was she thinking? Where did she go when she was zoning out? Kandros's eyes searched Tanil's face, resting on the scar on her face. "Where did you get the scar?" he asked.

Tanil's demeanor changed, her eyes snapping open and looking off, not at Kandros, but off. "Skylian Blitz."

Kandros's eyes widened. "An attack on a human colony by batarians. You were there? That was seven years ago."

Tanil nodded, she was still very slammed by the brandy. "Went there for Grissom. We stayed the day in the colony when the batarians showed up." She mumbled. "Got an omni-blade to the face." She said, tapping her scar with a lazy finger. "Hurt like hell. Fifteen kids were there, three of us survived the battles. Fucked up dontcha think? We got back ta Earth… and I joined da Navy."

Kandros lightly scratched his mandible, so Tanil was just a teenager during the battle with several other kids, most of who died. She got a terrible wound during the battle, she survived, but barely. She joined the Navy as an officer after that so she was in the field, in battle. Something happened that put her behind a desk; he just had to ask the right question.

"Where do you go when you zone out?"

Tanil's head lulled around in her hand, maybe she wasn't going to answer? "the mode, the calm before the shit storm. I have ta keep inside da hole, or else shit blows up." Tanil said, she was calm, but not necessarily making sense. "They call it PTSD, a mental disorder to revert back to traumatic experiences what's so terrifying about it? They have to monitor you, why? Is it because I can't sleep? Is it because sometimes I can hear the bullets or feel the blood, sticky on my fingers? The onley reason Ima still here is 'cause da Navy wants me as a soldier but I gots to sit behind a desk and keep my shit cool. One slip up, one little break down and BOOM!" Tanil shouted. "I lose my job."

Kandros leaned in as Tanil spoke, everything suddenly coming into the light. He didn't know PTSD, but he knew what Tanil was suffering from. She was reliving the near death experiences from the Blitz, more than that; she was reliving the deaths and the pain. Some turians even suffered from this, but they had ways to treat themselves, to recover from traumatic moments. What did humans have to treat Tanil, drugs? Not only that, Tanil might lose her position in the Navy if her mental instability continued? She had kept this from him, from everyone, and she had let herself sink because of it. The blood shot eyes, her paleness, she wasn't sleeping because of nightmares, and the scar probably didn't help her either.

"I have da mode dough." Kandros looked up; Tanil was resting her head back on the table again.

The mode, what was that? Maybe it was something she did to remain cool? Wait, the first day when she took her gun out at him. That was the mode, the mode of a soldier. That was her way of keeping her composure; it was obvious that she was slipping though. Kandros watched Tanil's slumped body, she was hammered, and he doubted she'd remember the night, much less his questions.

"Tired?" Kandros asked, instead of nodding Tanil just groaned. She was tired; hopefully with the help of the brandy, she would actually get a good night's rest. "Alright, let's get you to your apartment." Kandros got up, standing next to Tanil's seat, she probably couldn't stand.

Kandros bent down, carefully sliding his talons under Tanil's legs, tucking his arm under her knees and then her back. He then slid her carefully out of the booth and lifted her up, resting her body against him. Her body tensed for a split second, but instantly relaxed as she rested her head against him. At least she was comfortable with him. He carried her out of Purgatory, stopping at the taxi stand; he tapped the call button with his talon.

The taxi arrived and opened up; Kandros gently placed Tanil in the seat and climbed into the taxi. "Wards." The taxi took off.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Tanil's apartment, in which Kandros pulled her out of the taxi and carried her bridal style to her apartment door. He typed in the code and the door hissed open. Kandros entered the tiny apartment and froze. Data pads after data pads littered the desk next to the bathroom, some of them stacked to the side, but the amount, there was at least fifty data pads on the desk alone. The bed too… she hadn't even touched the bed; the sheets still perfectly flat and made like it was on day one. She hadn't slept in weeks! Kandros glanced down at the small form in his arms, his expression turning from worry to sadness; he wished he had known about her condition sooner.

Kandros slowly walked to the bed and gently placed Tanil down on top of the covers. Tanil rolled towards the center of the bed on her side, curling up into a ball. Kandros stared for a while before he bent back down and pulled the covers out from under Tanil and pulled them up over her. Satisfied that Tanil was comfortable, and warm, he turned to leave.

"Kandros…." Kandros turned back around to see Tanil's out stretched hand reaching for him. "Please, can you stay? It's hard to enter the mode when I'm alone." Kandros's eyes widened, there was utter fear plastered across her face.

"Of course." Kandros said, walking back to the bed, he grabbed her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed. Tanil let go of his hand an drolled back onto her side, her fingers digging into the fluffy white pillow as she clutched it. She was terrified of the nightmares, so terrified she hadn't slept in weeks, he had known few turians who suffered from lack of sleep as well. Maybe this was why humans suffered from such a disorder so much worse than turians, it was secretive, and almost seen as a weakness to admit to it. It was hard not to revert back to such memories when one was alone, but it was an easy task for a turian to ask someone for their company. Humans wouldn't dream of that, simply asking Kandros for it required Tanil to be severely drunk and tired. Humans are too personal Kandros scoffed, getting up from his seat on the bed.

Kandros walked aroudnt eh bed, stripping off his shirt as he did and setting it down at the foot of the bed. Once he got to the other side of the bed he lifted the covers and slid into the bed. Tanil's nightmares were already affecting her as she flopped onto her back, her eyebrows scrunched and Kandros could feel her shaking under the covers. Kandros hesitated, before leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. Tanil instantly relaxed, her body stilling and her breathing normalizing as she entered a peaceful sleep again.

Kandros relaxed onto the bed as well, watching Tanil sleep, his eyes moving to look at her scar that now faced him. Tanil had survived a battle, one that was barely won to begin with, the batarians terrorized the colony; if it wasn't for reinforcements, the colony would have been wiped out. Her comrades were at the colony with her, and all of them died… save three. Tanil survived… and here she was, asleep in the same bed as him, he was going to make damn sure it was going to stay that way. Wait… did he just imagine sleeping with her forever? No, he was still drunk; it was just the brandy thinking.

Kandros's eyes slowly drifted closed, although, having sex with Tanil wasn't exactly something he hadn't already thought about. Kandros finally fell asleep.


	6. Final Chapter

**Mass Effect: Inspiration**

**Final Chapter: Inspiration**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect.**

It was cold.

Why was it so damn cold? It was sticky too, there was something dripping down her face. Blood. The burning was back, the left side of her face was on fire, burning and sticky with blood. Where was the damn pistol? The batarians were coming, where's the damn pistol?! Gunfire everywhere, until one finally collided with the side of her head.

Tanil gasped, waking up abruptly from her nightmare; beads of sweat rolling down her face, her eyes adjusting to the dark. Her apartment, she stared at the ceiling, her eyes darting around the ceiling, trying to calm down. The scar, was it still bleeding? Tanil slowly lifted her left hand out from under the covers, reaching for the scar, her fingers were shaking uncontrollably, and she hadn't even touched it yet.

Something suddenly grabbed her forearm, stopping Tanil from touching her scar. Three fingers, Tanil's eyes widened, quickly turning her head to see Kandros lying down in bed with her. Wait a second, she remembered her drunkedness… right?

"How are you feeling?" Kandros asked, letting go of Tanil's arm.

Tanil ran a hand over her face, feeling the slight presence of alcohol still. Plus side of turian brandy, she never got hangovers from it. "I'm seriously starting to doubt my memory of last night." She said, groaning.

"You mean you might actually remember some of it?" Kandros asked, well, he sounded concerned.

Tanil sat up on her elbows, glancing at Kandros. "Do you enjoy interrogating drunk people?" she asked, Kandros's reaction told her that he was now slightly embarrassed.

"So you remember that."

Tanil nodded, pulling herself up the bed to rest her back against the head board. "I don't remember coming back here though." She noted, lifting up her shirt to look at her belly. "Did we?"

Kandros chuckled. "No, I brought you back here and you asked me to stay." He said as he sat up too. Kandros spotted his shirt where he had left it and reached for it.

Tanil buried her face in her hand. "I more or less asked you to sleep with me." She groaned hell she was still in her damned officer's jacket. Tanil finally unbuckled the jacket and tossed it across the room. "What time is it?"

"You're off today either way. Don't worry about the time." Kandros stated, putting on his shirt. Tanil's eyes widened and she grabbed Kandros's shirt, yanking it back over his head. "Spirits, what are you doing?"

"Did I mention that I love alien physiology? Pictures aren't that great." Tanil said, succeeding at pulling Kandros's shirt back off. "The natural armor that turians have is fascinating, pictures just don't give it justice." She placed her hands on his plated chest. "You won't believe how much it kills me to not know what a quarian looks like."

"Oh Spirits, you're going to ask to see my penis aren't you?" Kandros asked, was he still drunk? There was still some alcohol in Tanil's system, but she could easily tell he was more intrigued than shocked, he actually wanted to.

Tanil smiled, inspecting Kandros's exposed torso. "Maybe later. It's hard to imagine this can't protect you from gunfire." She said, noting the protective plates.

"Don't shoot me either."

Tanil laughed, "I won't. I know the difference between friend and foe." She said, grabbing Kandros's arm. "As long as you don't cut me with these sharp ass talons." Tanil said, inspecting Kandros's talons.

"Deal." Kandros said, watching Tanil's expression as she observed every little bit of Kandros's plates. She had this serious expression, she was actually intrigued by turian physiology, then again, she was intrigued by any alien species. "Let me take you out somewhere."

Tanil looked up from her studying, looking at Kandros curiously, "You took me to a bar, I got wasted and woke up with a turian in my bed; granted It wasn't with a salarian, I'll give you that, but not something I really want to do again anytime soon." She said, with a laugh through her nose. Was he hurt by that?

"I'm not that bad. At least let me take you to lunch or dinner. We've already shared a bed." Kandros stated, it almost sounded like he was begging for it.

Tanil's eyes widened. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Knadros instantly became flustered; he was shifting uncomfortably, becoming more conscious of Tanil's hands on him. "Only if you say yes."

Tanil quickly pulled her hands off him, holy shit, he was. Tanil blinked, should she say yes? "Ummm…."

Kandros gently grabbed Tanil's arm, grabbing her attention back tohim; his hands sliding down her arm to hold her hands. "Don't try and hide it. You trust me and I know you're comfortable with me, that much is known because of last night. We're not allergic to one another, why don't we give it a try?"

"Are you still drunk?" Tanil asked, but Kandros didn't laugh. "I don't know, Kandros! I've… I've never been in a relationship before."

"It doesn't hurt to try. Just give me a chance." Kancros said, taking hold of Tanil's hands. "I want to help you, in any I can, I want to help you, let me help you with this." Tanil stared at Kandros for a while, help her?

"Turians have a way of dealing with this?" Tanil asked.

"So to speak, we have dealt with it. It might not help, but I would like to assist you if I can." Kandros said, "Just this once, let me take you out somewhere nice and we'll see how it goes."

Taniil looked at her hands, seeing them being held by Kandros made it seem like the blood was never there. "Fine."

_1 year later…_

She never knew she could find comfort with a turian. Tanil looked out across the Presidium, thinking about waking up with Kandros beside her, of course that had already happened. Tanil smiled, on several occasions she woke up with Kandros. Life was settling down, the crew of the Normandy was dealt with; who knew what else the Alliance needed her to do. No doubt more paperwork, but different things like troop deployments and stuff. At least the work was a lot easier to deal with, especially now.

A body pressed itself against Tanil's back, making her smile as she felt two arms grab hold of her. "Not thinking of anything terrible are you?" chimed in Kandros.

"No, not anymore." Tanil said, truthfully as she rested her hand on Kandros's arm. "You off duty?"

"Finally." Kandros said, spinning Tanil around to look at her. "You as well?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." Tanil said, getting on her tippy toes to kiss Kandros. "So what do you have planned for me today?"

"I'm not sure, maybe some drinks and then my apartment or your for some after work relaxation." Kandros said, making Tanil smile. "Or we can skip the drinks."

"You're such a smooth talker."

"You like it."

* * *

Garrus Vakarian walked his way through the market, picking up supplies for the trip to Omega. The team was set up, he just needed some guns and ammun – wait. Garrus did a double take, looking back just in time to see Tanil and Kandros share a kiss. Was that even possible, between a turian and a human? Garrus continued to stare; he had never considered such a relationship before. Garrus looked away, his mind suddenly filled with images of Shepard, if he had known, would they have been together? It didn't matter now anyways. Garrus shook his head, clearing his mind, Shepard was dead, it wasn't possible for them to have a relationship anymore.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. Also, I should apologize for such a short ending. I never intended for this to be a long story either way. In case you were wondering why this was called Inspiration, now you know. Garrus happens to see a turian and human couple kissing, bringing into mind a possible relationship with Shepard. Lets just say it 'inspires' him to have a relationship with Shepard, and she just so happens to come back from the dead a year later, so it was some added Shakarian for people. I ship anything.**

**Thank you guys for reading, I hope you all enjoy it while it lasted. I'll never go back to this story but I may think up some more. Love you guys, stay awesome and keep lovin'!**


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